Wilson And Miss Lovely

Wilson And Miss Lovely, by John Stadler is a back to school mystery for ages 4-8. It is about a boy named Wilson who is basically in love with his teacher. This book has great illustrations and also has fold out pages. I think this book is good to read to kids when they are just getting back into the school year as well as anytime during the school year really. This boy, Wilson, is so excited to go back to school even though some strange things are happening. I really enjoyed reading the mystery and eagerness throughout the book and really enjoyed the pictures!

Duck Soup

Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic is a New York Times Best Seller. It is geared towards children ages 4-7. I found this book to be fun and entertaining. It is about a duck named Max who is always trying to cook different kinds of soups but they always end up tasting not great. He is trying to invent his own soup but when he goes out to get more ingredients his friends come in and think he is fallen into the soup that is boiling! It is really good and I think that children will enjoy hearing it! It has a good moral about not getting upset if things get messed up to keep trying.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book? By Lauren Child is a fun children's book to read. It is geared for children ages 4-7. It is about this boy, Herb, that fell asleep reading a book about Fairytales. He ends up falling into the book and runs into Goldilocks and the 3 bears, Cinderella, The King and Queen, the Ugly stepsisters and stepmother. Each page he walks into he sees is messed up in some way and remembers how he drew on it or cut something out. Through the book Herb is trying to figure out how to get out of the fairytales book. It is a humerous book that helps kids understand that books are precious and not to draw or cut things out of them. I thought this book was good and helped show that message. The illustrations were great in showing how a kid may change things in the book. I would recommened reading this to a classroom at anytime.

A Frog in the Bog

A frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson and Joan Rankin is a fun children's story to read! It is geared towards ages 3-7, but I think anyone could read it and enjoy it. This frog is sitting on the middle of a bog on a log, and he's hungry. When different little insects that frogs like to eat like tick's, fleas, flies, etc. fly along he eats them. The book rhymes, as you can see "a frog sitting in the bog on a log" and the punctuation makes you want to read it quick. It is a fun book to read and helps with counting, word recognition, and learning a little about what frogs may do and their surroundings. I think this book would be great to read to a classroom when discussing nature or anytime really. The illustrations were fun too because they showed how the frog would get bigger the more he ate and other things. I really liked it. =)

My Parents are Divorced, My elbows Have Nicknames, and Other Facts about Me

My Parents are Divorced, My elbows have Nicknames, and Other Facts about Me by Bill Cochran is a new children's book. It is geared to children ages 4-8. I really enjoyed reading it. It had great illustrations and fun facts about Ted, a kid whose parents got divorced when he was a little younger. He doesn't want to be weird but finds out he could be a little strange but doesn't care because it's who he is. I think this book is really good at showing kids that it doesn't matter if your parents are divorced, you like to sleep with one sock on, or other silly things like that, that you can be who you are and that you are loved by both parents even though they are not together. I saw this book on the shelf and wanted to read it because my parents are divorced, I've always known that they both love me and haven't had a problem with it because they divorced before I can remember, but I know there are a lot of people who struggle with it. I think this book is a really good book to share in a classroom anytime or with kids at home whether they are struggling with it or not because they may have a friend with divorced parents or may be made fun of about things they like and they need to know that whatever it is that it is ok because that is who they are.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Mark Teague was a fun picture book to read! It is geared towards ages 3-7. This children's book was fun to read because it was a twist on how one would spend their summer vacations. Many kids go to camps, go on vacations, etc. but in this story Wallace Bleff is on his way to his aunts house for the summer but gets kidnapped by cowboys, no big deal, and gets taught how to be a cowboy. I found the book to be very interesting and the phrases rhymed which helps in reading to kids, I think. I thought that it was humerous and would be great to read to children in a classroom in the early fall or even just at home.

The World According to Humphrey

The World According to Humphrey by Betty G Birney is an Iowa Children's Choice Award Winner! This children's novel is geared towards students in grades 2-5. It is narrated in the point of view of Humphrey, Room 26 at Longfellow School's class pet, a hamster. I found the author did a fantastic job trying to think like a hamster, what a hamster may think, act, and say reguarding different situations it gets put in or sees. Humphrey was brought to the class at the beginning of the school year by the substitute who was in the class for the first 6 weeks of the school year, Ms. Mac. Then all of a sudden the actual teacher, Mrs. Brisbane, came back and it crushed Humphrey's heart. Ms. Mac bought Humphrey from the pet store because she thought that the student's would learn to be more responsible with the pet, learning to care for it, etc. How it was put in the novel, "You can learn a lot about yourself by taking care of another species." It is true. The students, janitor, principal, and even Humphrey learn a lot! Humphrey gets to go home each weekend with a different student in the class, he learns to read and write, he helps their families out in different ways. He also has a cage that the lock does not lock so he can get out and go in different adventures all the time. I found that Betty Birney did such a great job in the descriptions of this book! There are sequals to The World According to Humphrey like "Friendship According to Humphrey" and a few others that I would recommened reading in a classroom or just for fun!